Saga of the Traveler: Legacy of Salem
by Master-Magician
Summary: An ancient terror awakens and the only hope to stop it is the Librarians. With the aid of an unlikely visitor.
1. It Awakens

**It took me forever, but with the start of season 3, I decided it was time for that rewrite. So I deleted the entire work from here and will repost each chapter one at a time, some will be deleted, some will be changed, some just revised.**

 **I also decided I will likely make this Jake/Cassandra instead of implied like before.**

 **This story is part of a collection of solo stories featuring in some way or form the enigmatic character of The Traveler, Endymion. Each story has the title Saga of the Traveler to tell them apart from others.**

 **Also, this first chapter is meant to be very short. It is just a setup. More shall follow.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

At first it was a night like so many others in Salem, Massachusetts. The inky black sky covered in vast patches or stars, the moon full and shining.

The change was so sudden, but at the same time very subtle. It would have noticed it at first.

What few insects that were active suddenly went silent, along with any active nocturnal wildlife, as if they knew what was about to happen. The previously bright moon and stars slowly faded away, leaving a near impenetrable darkness.

Had someone been watching long enough, they would have noticed.

Had someone been watching long enough, a warning could have been given.

But no one was watching, no one was there to see.

Had there been eyes watching through the darkness, they would have seen the unnatural black shadow rise from the undisturbed earth. It slowly coalesced into a humanoid shape, a cloak of smoke like darkness billowing behind it.

Hollow, ancient eyes burning like hot coals scanned the surroundings. This was not the world it remembered. Everything had changed during its long slumber.

Something was missing though... something important.

That was a matter for later however. Something else caught the figure's attention. In the distance were many small lights. A human village perhaps?

Life.

The shadow's smoky visage twisted into a mockery of a gleeful smile.

It was so very... hungry.

Yes, those lights meant life. So many fresh human souls just waiting to be harvested to slake its endless thirst.

At first it was a night like so many others in Salem, Massachusetts.

The town had no idea the terror that had just awakened.

The same doom that was heading straight for them.

* * *

 **Vague I know, you want to know more, read on.**


	2. A Warning

**Now the actual story begins.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

"Yeah yeah, I'll be there in about half an hour." Robert Smalls spoke into his cell phone as he carried a bag of trash out to the cans in front of his house. "See you then."

Stuffing the phone back into his pocket, the man turned to head back into the house with a smile on his face. Now he just needed to change clothes real quick and he would be ready for his date. Things were finally starting to look up for him.

Movement from the corner of his eyes caught the man's attention.

"Hello? Who's there?" Robert turned his flashlight in the direction but all he saw was a row of rustling bushes. He took two steps back as he started to panic. He was too far from his front door to get there quickly.

He sighed in relief when a small stray cat came out of the row of plants.

Robert laughed to himself. "Getting worked up over nothing Robert, not like a monster is going to get you or anything."

When he turned to move back to his house he froze. He was face to face with a pair of eyes glowing like burning coals. The thing before him held no shape, it appeared to be made of swirling black mist. The face the eyes were attached to was nearly imposable to see even by the light of his flashlight. It was as if it just sucked in and absorbed the light.

Whatever it was before him smiled. At least Robert thought it was a smile, part of what he thought was its face opened revealing what must have been rows of razor sharp teeth.

The man did not even have a chance to scream before a tendril of smoke lashed out and wrapped around his neck. It may have looked like smoke but it certainly did not feel like it. It burned like fire on the skin of his throat. Whatever sound he tried to get out was instantly chocked out as the tendril tightened its grip.

On reflex, Robert tried to grab the thing to pull it off his neck but he could not grip it. Even worse, the moment his hands touched the smoke they became equally stuck, and burned just as much as his neck.

Before his very eyes, the flesh of his hands blackened and cracked. Taking on an almost charred appearance. His eyes widened in utter horror as he could only imagine the same thing was happening to his neck.

The next thing Robert knew, the shape crashed into him faster than his eyes could process. Then he knew no more.

* * *

ONE WEEK LATER

Jake really should have seen it coming. After the main clippings book had its 'freak out' about the dragons, it should not have been a shock when the smaller one in his possession had a similar ability.

The book in question was sitting at his bedside table when it started throwing what could only be described as a tantrum.

Opening his eyes in the middle of the night, Jake was greeted at first by the sight of the book vibrating of its own accord. He looked at it curiously before it suddenly shot out and struck him in the face.

"Ow!" Jake rubbed his nose before he snatched the magical book up. The movements ceased instantly.

"Okay okay, whoa up there." The oddity of talking to a magical book didn't even occur to Jake as he flipped open the pages.

The last time something like this happened, the dragons were waking up prepared to wreck havoc "until there is no more havoc to be wrecked" as Jenkins so aptly put it.

That was why when Jake opened the book to its back pages only to find a couple of missing persons found clippings, he was a little... disappointed. No weather disasters? No strange creature sightings? Just missing people being found? Hell, half their missions consisted of missing people in one form or another.

It was after he read the rest of the article that he saw what made this especially strange. It was two things, the location and state of the found people.

The place was Salem, Massachusetts.

The people were found dead, drained of blood, shriveled up like they'd been dead for a long time despite people having seen them the days before, and their flesh charred. So far there were three people found in the last week.

Red flags were definitely going way up. If the book was reacting like this, then there was something big going on.

Looks like he was not going to be getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

Cassandra hummed quietly to herself as she walked into her dark apartment. Flipping on the light, she closed the door and sat her bag on the couch.

She was about to go into the kitchen to figure out something for dinner when she heard a noise behind her.

When she turned around, the redhead saw nothing at first. It took a few moments for her to realize the bag she just sat down was moving.

Cassandra approached the bag cautiously, it would be just her luck that some kind of small furry rodent or something had snuck into it when she wasn't looking.

The redhead discovered, to her relief, that the activity was not actually an animal. It was her clippings book.

"Oh no! Not the dragons again!" Cassandra groaned as she flipped through the pages, clearly remembering the last time something like this happened. The only new entry was towards the back of the small book. Three found missing persons, all dead and... drained of blood? In Salem, Massachusetts?

"Salem... witch trials... witches... green skin and warts... " Cassandra suddenly found herself dizzy and about to fall over. Thankfully, the couch was right there for her to fall onto.

God, she wished Jake was there. He always broke through to her when a spell hit. But he wasn't, she was again all alone in her small apartment. She could usually get her mind to eventually calm down, Jake just made it so much easier.

She was unsure how long she sat there holding her head in her hands, but once she calmed down she slowly stood back to her feet.

If the book was reacting like this, then it must be important. Knowing what she knew of magic, there likely was real witches in Salem back in the 1690s.

Time to go research the Salem Witch Trials.

* * *

Twenty kills on Call of Duty with no deaths. It was a good evening for Ezekiel Jones. No one could top his awesomeness. He felt on top of the world.

At least until something clocked him in the back of the head making him slip up and get shot dead.

"Hey! Not cool!" Ezekiel looked over his shoulder but saw nothing. He was completely alone in his apartment.

With a groan, Ezekiel turned off his game. He was so close to breaking his flawless twenty-two kill record! Now the magic of what should have been his victory was ruined.

The thief's eyes scanned the room for anything out of place as he turned his swivel chair around. There better not be ghosts in here.

His eyes soon fell to the clippings book on the floor. Did his book just try to attack him?

When the book started flopping around on the floor, Ezekiel shot up and out of his chair.

"Nuh-uh no, no bloody way am I arbtizing another stupid conclave!" Ezekiel shrieked. The last time a clippings book did this, it was a nightmare. Dragons waking up, putting him in charge of a meeting between all the fancy representatives, evil golden apple. Granted he kinda accidentally made himself the arbiter and got a chance to pickpocket Flynn (with permission too!) but that was not the point.

Stepping on the book, Ezekiel glared at the offending item under his sock clad foot.

The one-sided staring match lasted several minutes before he caved. If the book was doing this he probably should check it out. Who knows, maybe there was some fancy artifact he could steal?

The idea brought a grin to his face as he snatched the book off the floor. Flipping pages, he quickly found the entry in question since it was the only new one.

Dead people found in Salem?

"Hmm..." Ezekiel mused to himself. It probably had something to do with witches. It that were the case then he could make this work. Morgan Le Fey was practically a witch after all. She was pretty good looking, maybe if this was a witch she could be just as easy on the eyes. Hopefully without the evilness.

Eh... it was worth looking into at least.

First things first though, research. No telling what was waiting for him in Salem.

The very idea of doing research sent a shudder down the thief's spine.

* * *

 **Once again, this chapter required very little fixing. Review so I know what you all think.**


	3. Scouting

**This here is when stuff starts changing. If I recall somebody mentioned in a review this chapter wasn't really needed. So I'll be whacking some parts and merging others from chapter 4. From here on out, changes start happening from the original Legacy of Salem.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

"Where the hell is the section on sixteenth century history in North America?" Jake questioned under his breath as he perused the bookshelves of The Library. This place was huge!

The cowboy turned a corner just in time to collide with a certain Australian thief.

"Bloody hell man!" Ezekiel Jones groaned out as he got back to his feet, dusting himself off in the process. "In a hurry much?"

Jake had managed to catch himself before he hit the floor but Jones was moving so fast that the impact had quite a bit of force behind it. "You're one to talk Jones."

It was right at that moment that Cassandra came around a different bookshelf carrying a stack of books in her arms. "Oh, hey guys. What brought you here?"

Jake was about to answer when he saw the books she was carrying. They were the exact ones he was here searching for.

"Got a possible case about witches." Jones replied first. "I was looking for anything having to do with witches but keep getting turned around."

"Witches? Really?" Cassandra sounded a bit skeptical.

"Well, my book brought up Salem but hey, if it's not witches I'm a monkey's uncle." Jones shrugged.

Jake stilled for a moment before quickly getting out his small clippings book. "Jones, this the entry you got?" Jake held the book out for the thief to read.

Jones eyes scanned the page for a few moments before he froze. In an instant he had his own book out for Jake to read.

The two articles in the books were the exact same.

Both men turned as one to Cassandra. During their exchange, she'd also gotten her own out for them to see.

All three books were the same.

"That's... not possible, isn't it?" Cassandra whispered quietly. "Flynn told us these books all get different entries."

A tense silence fell over the three. If the same entry appeared in all three books when it wasn't supposed to do that...

Jake had a lot more warning flags going up now.

The three librarians decided, without actually saying it, they would be tackling this case together. Jake was all too happy to agree to that. Whatever was causing this was likely extremely dangerous. If they were teaming up, he could keep a much better eye of Jones and especially Cassandra.

"Anyone else totally weirded out by this whole deal?" Jones suddenly dropped his book with a loud thud. Cassandra had been so engrossed in her research that she practically jumped two feet in the air.

"Yeah, somethin's not right." Jake was almost completely unaffected by Jones' outburst.

"How the hell does the freaking magical and ancient library not have info on something?" Jones continued his rant. "That's crazy, even by our standards."

"From what I can tell," Cassandra began. "There was definitely some event in Salem during the late 1600's. But there are no actual records of what happened. All the accounts are secondhand and speculation."

"So, whatever happened no one wrote about it?" Jones looked over at the redhead.

"Either that or the records were destroyed." Cassandra answered with a shrug. "Nothing here is going to tell us anything."

"Whoa, maybe this might mean something." Jake pulled to the center of the table a map of the Ley Lines. He'd gotten a bad feeling all along that was only growing stronger, so he decided to check something out just in case.

Sometimes, Jake really hated being right.

"There's a huge Ley Line going right through Salem." Jones whistled softly.

Jake was liking this case less and less. Something bad was going on and they had zero information to go on. As Baird would say they were facing "a hidden enemy with zero intel".

Speaking of Baird...

"What about Flynn? Maybe he'll know something." Jones beat Jake to the punch.

That would be a good idea, perhaps Flynn could have at least a bit more they could add to their measly pile of information. He could have easily heard something in all his travels.

It was Cassandra that crushed that particular idea to dust.

"I have no idea where he is. I haven't been able to reach him for a few days and Baird is off on a personal errand." Cassandra spoke completely casually. "And Jenkins is busy working on something too."

Jake and Jones could only stare at her with raised eyebrows.

"What? I like to keep them updated how I'm doing." Cassandra blushed slightly.

Jake grinned slightly. It was common knowledge how close their resident mathematics expert was to their mentor. Jake was just glad the redhead finally found a father figure worth a damn. She certainly deserved that much.

Jake hoped he never got a chance to meet her real parents. He might not be able to resist the temptation to punch her dad's lights out.

"I don't think we're getting much more out of this guys." Jones picked up another book for a moment before setting it back down.

Jake sighed. As much as Jake hated to admit it, their fellow librarian was right. There wasn't anything else they could get out of the library. Nothing of any use at any rate.

Great, so that meant they were going to have to go in, against a possible threat that sucks blood from its victims, with no information. Wait... sucks blood...

Vampires maybe? Flynn did say they were real.

Jake groaned as he let his head drop to the table. That was another unpleasant possibility to add to the ever-growing pile.

Jones clapped his hands together. "So, mystery trip to Salem? I'll fire up the back door."

If they did the math right, which meant they of course did thanks to Cassandra, they had to wait a bit so that they would get to Salem late morning. It certainly was better than arriving in the middle of the night. One common factor was the victims being attacked in the dark.

Jake had ran back to his apartment for a heavier coat, he assumed the other two would do something similar.

When Jake arrived at the Annex, he had to stifle a laugh.

Cassandra had opted for one of her normal short dresses and tights again. Except this time she chose a plain deep purple former and black latter. If she had a pointed hat and maybe black lipstick or fingernail polish, she would look just like a Halloween witch.

Unfortunately, Jake could not contain his laughter for very long.

"What?" Cassandra glanced down seeming to realize what was drawing Jake attention. "Oh... I didn't realize. Maybe I should run home and change again..."

"No no, you look great darlin'." Jake smiled to reassure her. A gesture the redhead immediately reciprocated with a bit of a blush and a soft-spoken thanks.

If Jake was completely honest with himself, which he would only be within the safety of his own mind, Cassandra looked way better than just great. She always looked gorgeous no matter what she wore.

Jake instantly hit the brakes on that train of thought before his imagination got carried away in how good the redhead looked in short skirts and...

"Damn it!" Jake mumbled under his breath a bit louder than he intended.

The look he got from Cassandra told him that she heard what he said and was about to comment on it any second. Jake's salvation came in the form of, of all things, Ezekiel Jones walking into the room.

"Ready to go Jones?" Jake said suddenly as he did his best to ignore the looks of Cassandra while he set the coordinates on the globe.

"Yup," was Jones' only response while he took up a position beside the door with Cassandra. The woman's eyes were not on him, but Jake could tell she wanted to say something.

Jake pushed it out of his mind while the trio stepped through the doorway.

They timed their arrival about right, it was late morning in Salem. Certainly, better than showing up in the middle of the night.

First order of business was to figure out where to start their investigation.

The librarians would split up to cover more ground. Jake would search around some of the local museums and see if there were any urban legends that matched their mysterious attacker. Ezekiel was going to check out the sites of the attacks for any other clues then ask around town for anything strange happening recently. Once the three were done they would meet back up at the Annex to compare notes.

It was a unanimous decision for Cassandra to try and talk to some of the families of the people who were attacked. They couldn't just go up to them and ask "hello sir or madam but can you tell me about your loved one who recently died?". The redhead felt like that would not go over very well. She had a more... approachable personality than Jake or Ezekiel.

Jake was more than a little hesitant for any of them to split up. From what they were able to tell, the people were only ever attacked at night. Never in broad daylight. They should be safe until sundown at least.

Cassandra couldn't contain her smile. Jake was always so protective over each of them. It reminded her of when they encountered the Libris Fabula. He became The Huntsman while she became Prince Charming, in her opinion it should have been the other way around. Jake was the one always looking out for and protecting everyone.

Especially her, but at the same time he did not treat her like a glass doll ready to break any moment. She was a valued member and partner of their group. She hated being made to feel useless, that was what everyone did before she joined the Library.

Now who to start with?

The redhead was oblivious to the man in the long black coat watching her.

* * *

Talking to people the victims knew had been useless.

Cassandra came to them under the pretenses of doing research on the history of the town, a half truth actually. When they got upset, the redhead would ask what was wrong and offer to listen. It worked surprisingly well.

Unfortunately, the only thing she learned was that all three victims were unrelated. None knew each other, they were different kinds of people, worked and lived in different places in town. The only thing in common was that they were all fairly young and healthy.

Their killer was definitely taking measures to not establish a pattern, or maybe there wasn't a pattern to establish. Targeting random people would make it harder to predict, harder to catch.

"Ugh..." Cassandra groaned under her breath as she massaged her temples. Another headache was coming on. At least she hadn't had any episodes yet today.

As if fate had to dash her hopes, she was swept up in a sudden wave of dizziness. The redhead would have fallen if she hadn't put a hand up on a nearby wall to steady herself.

It was to both her misfortune, and good fortune, that no one on the street seemed to notice. The whole thing was embarrassing. She wished Jake was here to steady her like he always was.

But he wasn't, she was by herself. Cassandra could only rely on herself right now, no matter how bad she wished a certain man was there.

Just when she thought it had passed, Cassandra's legs suddenly buckled from beneath her. She was about to fall on her face when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and caught her.

At first Cassandra thought it was Jake having caught up to her, but the voice told her otherwise. "Easy there miss."

The stranger did not hold her for long. The world soon stopped spinning and he let go the instant it did.

Cassandra turned to thank the man but her voice caught when she saw him. He was fairly tall, perhaps a bit above six foot. A long black leather coat covered most of his body from view but two things in particular caught her attention.

The first was the strange marks on his neck. They appeared to be scars but were in some kind of pattern that seemed to go further down his body beneath his clothes. The second thing is what really caught her gaze.

His eyes.

The iris of both were silver, like polished jewelry. To the best of Cassandra's scientific knowledge, such a thing wasn't just rare, it didn't exist. Then again, she lived in a world of magic and wonder. Silver eyes really shouldn't be that much a surprise.

Something that set off alarm bells within Cassandra's brain. Silver eyes probably meant magic, much like their killer.

The man's chuckle is what snapped her brain back into focus. "Silver eyes are not a regular occurrence around here. Good to know."

Cassandra blushed, and tried not to sound as terrified as she felt. "Sorry for starring, they're just so..."

"Unique." The stranger finished before she could get the last word out.

"Yeah, anyway thanks for the help. I really need to go meet up with my friends." Cassandra spoke quickly as she backed away from the silver-eyed man.

He gave Cassandra a small smile along with a small bow. "It was no trouble, you should hurry home miss. These streets are not safe after nightfall." There was something in the way he said that. Like he knew something, but was trying to say it without spelling it out.

The redhead acknowledged the words with a nod but was in such a hurry to leave, she'd forgotten something.

"I didn't get your name..." Cassandra's words trailed off when she turned back and saw the man nowhere in sight. Oh, not good, she just had a suspect and forget to ask his name!

At least she could remember what he looked like, Cassandra would have to tell Jake and Ezekiel about him later.

* * *

Jake was extremely annoyed.

This whole town was witch this and witch that. Granted it was a genius way of bringing in tourists and travelers by playing on urban legend and history, but come on!

He had done a quick go over of the exhibits. While doing so, he asked for any local interesting local history. They were quick to regale him with fanciful tales of guess what? Witches. Jake instantly knew most of them were total bull within moments. These people were used to dealing with and entertaining tourists.

Jake sighed to himself. At least he learned one potentially good thing. There was an abandoned house outside town. Local legend said that it was the home of a witch back in the late 1600's. Most people avoided it, some teens would occasionally go inside on a dare but no one could ever get past the first room. Not even the bravest jock or thrill seeker could do it and that was during the towns entire recent history.

Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly close to town. They'd have to rent a car to get most of the way there and hike the rest.

It was a lead, albeit a poor one but worth checking out at the very least. Maybe Jones or Cassandra were having better luck.

As Jake left the current museum, he was oblivious to the man in the long black coat.

Jake made his way back to the Annex in a brisk walk. The sun was starting to set, night was open season for whatever the hell this thing was.

As hard as he tried to avoid it, his thoughts continually drifted to a certain woman with flame colored curls. Jake hoped she was already back at the Annex safe and sound. He knew that she could handle herself for the most part but her visions sometimes got the better of her.

She had been getting better at drawing herself out of them. Eventually she would not need Jake at all to help pull herself free. He found the thought more upsetting than he would have thought.

Jake was about to turn the corner leading to the alley that held the Annex door when he heard it.

A scream. Jake instantly broke into a dead sprint, knowing the voice's owner.

Cassandra.

* * *

 **Finally! I can start implementing changes that I wanted to do. Review please and let me know how I'm doing. And to those interested I currently have at least three chapters planned out for Library of Wonders. But suggestions are always welcome.**


	4. Contact

**Finally, Endymion gets to make his appearance. Once again, this chapter is a revised and merged version of two other chapter. Much like the others before it, I found upon rereading it that there was no point for the separation.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Of all the things Jake had ever heard, from his father's drunken yelling, to the roar of the minotaur, nothing sent a chill down his spine like the sound of Cassandra's scream.

He came running around the corner just in time to see Jones be thrown like a ragdoll straight at him.

The enhanced reflexes of being in so many bar brawls was the only thing that allowed Jake to dive to the side and dodge the Australian missile.

Recovering quickly, Jake turned to face the direction of the attack. If the scream horrified him, what he saw was on a whole different level.

Cassandra was pinned to the wall, her face contorted in pure agony. In front of her was a shadowy entity, a seemingly shapeless cloud of black smoke. Jake could only see it because it was darker than all the shadows around it. It reminded Jake a lot of the keeper of the House of Refuge when Katie Bender was in control of it. Only this one was smaller.

A smoky tendril held Cassandra's wrist in a vice like grip keeping her pinned to the wall high enough so that her boots couldn't even touch the ground.

Her hand had already taken on an appearance of blackened and charred flesh. Jake just knew that if he could see under her sleeves, the skin of her arm would look the same.

Exactly like the recent murder victims.

Baird had once told Jake to fight smarter, not harder. He did take that lesson to heart after the Labyrinth debacle. But right now, he developed tunnel vision. All he could see was that Cassandra was in danger and something was trying to kill her before his very eyes. So, he did the only thing his brain could think up at the moment.

He charged.

When Baird had told him the story of the haunted house, the part he was out of commission for, one of the things she mentioned was that when she attacked their ghostly attacker, she had actually body slammed the thing away from Katie and Cassandra.

Jake's hope was that the same tactic would work here. He just needed to get the thing away from Cassandra. Then he could figure out how to get them away or a way to drive it off.

The second his body made contact with the creature, Jake felt like he touched a boiling hot cloud of steam. If it meant getting Cassandra away from the thing, he would have run through said cloud. But the instant his body touched the monster, another tendril lashed out like a whip and knocked him away.

He realized upon impact that this was what happened to Jones a moment before his arrival.

Rolling across the ground, Jake recovered as fast as he could to make another attack. He had to do something, anything.

Before Jake could even get back to his feet, another attack came.

This one from behind him.

A pair of jeweled daggers sailed over his head. Both struck the middle of the cloud less than a few inches apart. The two weapons stuck into the shapeless monster as if they hit flesh instead of smoke.

The exact instant the blades made contact, the entity let out an inhuman screech. Dropping Cassandra in the process. Jake was already rushing ahead to her but he was too far to catch her before she hit the pavement.

After the monster recoiled away from the redhead, it tore the two weapons free.

Then it lunged for Cassandra again.

"Cassie!" Jake screamed. The redhead was still too far away for him to get to her in time.

The ghostlike creature never got close.

Jake blinked once, and when his eyes reopened, there was a man in a long black coat standing before Cassandra directly in the path of the entity.

It tried to rush past him, or to just consume him like it tried to do to Cassandra, but the man drew something from his back beneath the coat. Jake could not tell because of the dark but they appeared to be a pair of revolver pistols.

The stranger leveled the two weapons and opened fire with bolts of green light. The shots tore into the specter and shoved it back with a feral hiss. Each shot blew off portions of the smoke cloud, but they just as quickly reattached. The only real effect was that the creature was forced back.

By the time Jake was able to reach Cassandra, the shadowy monster was gone. The man was pointing the two guns in all directions as if searching for the smoky attacker.

Ignoring the man, Jake's entire focus was on Cassandra. The redhead sat still on the ground, but was at least still conscious.

When Jake dropped to his knees beside her, he saw just how bad of shape she was in. Her skin was deathly pale, her hair seemed to have lost a lot of its normal shine, and her eyes were glazed over. Her blackened arm clutched tightly to her chest. Her breathing was so irregular, Jake couldn't tell if she was simply hyperventilating, or having one of her episodes. There couldn't possibly be a worst time for one.

"Cassie?" Jake put an arm around her shoulder's and when he did he felt how badly she was shaking. "Come on Darlin', talk to me here."

There was no response. Cassandra just continued staring off into nothingness, obviously in shock.

By now the stranger and dropped down to one knee in front of her. "Miss, I need you to look at me."

He got no answer either.

Jake had no idea who this guy was but if he could get through to Cassandra he didn't care. He was about ready to try anything.

He had just happened to glance over at the newcomer, when Jake happened to notice his silver eyes. He definitely was no ordinary human like them. But that issue was going to have to wait.

"Miss?" The silver-eyed man tried again but still nothing.

Jake was starting to panic, they needed to get Cassandra to calm down and fast. And where the hell was Jones! He might be able to do something.

Remembering their thief friend was hurled through the air, Jake should go check on him. The idea of leaving Cassandra alone with a stranger, especially with her condition, did not sit well with the Jake however.

"Miss!" This time the stranger spoke with a far deeper voice that sounded almost demonic, Jake felt it in his chest more than he heard it.

Cassandra's eyes suddenly snapped up to meet the stranger's gaze.

"Good, now I need you to take some deep breaths, in" the man sucked in a deep breath, "out" then released it. He repeated the words and actions several times.

Slowly, Cassandra started following along with the man, taking deep breaths. Soon her breathing was back under control but she still looked in very rough shape.

Then she promptly went limp in Jake's arms.

"Cassie!" Jake's panic was back as held onto the petite redhead. He would have snapped completely if it wasn't for the fact that he could see the slow rise and fall of her chest with each breath. She was breathing, breathing was a good start.

The silver-eyed man gently grabbed Cassandra's unblemished arm and pressed two fingers to the skin of her wrist. Jake thought about confronting the man but he knew the gesture as checking for a pulse. Right now, Jake didn't care who this person was as long as he could help Cassandra.

"Her heart still beats but it's weak, we need to get her somewhere safe right now." The stranger for the first time turned his unnatural gaze on Jake. "That thing will be back any moment."

"The Annex, through there." Jake motioned with his head to the doors leading to their sanctuary. It occurred to him that he should be more careful with a stranger but it didn't matter right now. Far as he was concerned, Cassandra's well-being came first.

"Go, I'll cover you." The silver-eyed man was back on his feet, at some point he had retrieved the two daggers he threw at the spectral creature. Jake never even saw him do it.

Just as Jake moved his arms beneath Cassandra's back and legs, he noticed Jones had been right beside him the entire time. His jaw was bruised and he had a small cut on his cheek but he otherwise was unharmed. The younger librarian looked every bit of the worry Jake was feeling, the fact he hadn't said a word said as much.

With Cassandra in his arms, Jake hurried to the back door. Jones opening the door the moment they were before it.

The two men and Cassandra went through first, with the stranger following right behind. He backed through the door slowly, his eyes never leaving the alley they just came from. Once through the door, he slammed it shut behind him with a kick of his foot.

Jake glanced over at their visitor just in time to see him place a palm against the door. When he did, several glowing orange lines flowed from his hand all over the door forming a net over the surface before vanishing.

"There, it won't be able to follow us through here." The silver-eyed man spoke before Jake had a chance to ask what he was doing.

"What did you just do?" Jones spoke for the first time.

"I set up some protective wards on your door here so that thing doesn't sneak in and kill you all." The stranger looked at Jones as he spoke then turned his eyes back to Jake and Cassandra. "Lay her down somewhere to rest. After a little while she'll be back to normal, her arm too, hopefully before she wakes."

Jake had already laid the unconscious Cassandra down on one of their couches in the Annex. Now that she was safe and sound he turned his attention back to the other matter at hand.

"Okay, what the hell was that thing, who the hell are you, and what did it do to Cassie?" Jake almost yelled at the stranger. If he was affected by the outburst, he didn't show it.

Subconsciously, Jake winced slightly. He should be at least a little bit grateful, if the silver-eyed man hadn't of shown up when he did... Cassandra would probably be a burnt husk like the other victims.

The idea was scarier than anything Jake could have imagined.

"Firstly, that was a nasty case of a death specter."

"Ghost?" Jones rubbed his undoubtedly sore jaw.

"Pretty much, as for you redheaded friend, as I said, she will be fine. She was caught in a life draining hold. Kind of a favorite among death specters. That ghost was literally trying to suck the life out of her. But we got it away from her in time. She'll recover fairly quickly."

"The other victims in Salem..." Jake began.

"Same fate." The silver-eyed man finished. "It's absorbing life energy from people but for what purpose I'm unsure."

"Wait, wait, wait. Who are you anyway?" Jake questioned before remembering both what he did to their door and how he seemed to appear between Cassandra and that monster. "What are you?"

The man flashed a smile to the two men. "Pardon my manners." He gave a small bow as he spoke his next words. "Most just call me The Traveler, but you can call me Endymion."

"Endymion? Wait... the Endymion from Greek mythology?" Jake questioned as he really looked at the man for the first time. Apart from the eyes, he didn't look all that unique. There was something under his coat though, Jake could not be sure but it looked suspiciously like armor. Wait… there were symbols on his skin, around his neck but they appeared to form a pattern. If it did, the markings extended further down his body beneath his clothing. At first they looked like tattoos, but Jake quickly realized it wasn't ink in his skin, those were brands.

Endymion rolled his eyes slightly. "Same name, different person. I'm not from around here actually."

"Hold up, what's with all the glowy stuff?" Jones spoke as he motioned to the door leading back to Salem.

"Magic." Endymion brought his hand up, just in time for Jake to see a small spark of electricity twirl around the silver-eyed man's fingers.

Jake had opened his mouth to repeat his question of what their mysterious savior was when he, before his mind could register the words coming from his mouth, instead asked the other question nagging badly at him. "You said Cassie was going to be fine?"

Jake was really hoping Jones and Endymion did not catch the worry infecting his voice. His face was the perfect picture of calm but inside he was definitely having a near freak out. Cassandra being hurt or in trouble tended to do that despite his attempts to feel otherwise.

"Yes, she appears to be in good health and was pulled away quite swiftly. As I said, she will recover soon." Endymion explained as he glanced at the redhead. "She was lucky we arrived when we did, a few more minutes and the damage could have been permanent."

If Jake thought he could feel even sicker to his stomach, he now discovered he certainly could. That feeling was quickly magnified when Jake remembered Cassandra was not in 'good health' like Endymion had said. Having the ever present "brain grape", as Jones so eloquently put it, in her head surly was not a mark of being healthy.

He was pondering saying something about it to Endymion. He seemed to have an understanding of what was happening that Jake and Jones both lacked.

"I'm going to go get the first aid kit." Jones grumbled as he rubbed at his jaw. His cut did not seem serious but it should be tended to regardless.

This left Jake alone with their mysterious 'guest'.

Jake took a moment to really look at him. There was something off about him, he was practically a stranger but there was this overwhelming sense of calm that practically radiated off the silver-eyed man. It was like he knew he could trust him completely despite barely knowing him. It had to be magic somehow, some kind of aura. Jake felt that he should consider this man to at least be somewhat of a threat, being an unknown and a magic user both.

Just then, another thought came to Jake's mind. Endymion was carrying several weapons. From what he remembered from the alley, there was at least two daggers and those revolvers. All four of which were completely concealed beneath that long leather coat he wore. If you just looked at Endymion, there was no way to tell he was carrying anything. Which begged another question, what else was under that coat?

Not that the weapons mattered. If what Jake saw of his magic was any indication, he didn't need those knives or guns. If Endymion had any magic at all, it was almost guaranteed that he had at least some offensive ability with it.

All of this led Jake to the ultimate realization- if Endymion wanted to hurt them, kill them even, he could do so easily. There would be nothing he, nor Jones, nor Cassandra could do to stop him.

Thus far, Endymion did not seem to have any such intentions. He had saved them from that spirit creature and reassured them that Cassandra was going to be fine. Jake doubted Endymion would do such a thing if he had any malicious intentions.

Endymion had also saved Cassandra, that alone earned him the benefit of the doubt as far as Jake was concerned.

Out of nowhere, a weak voice from the couch croaked out. "Jake?"

Jake was at the redhead's side in less than a second, all other thoughts forgotten.

Cassandra's eyes were open, but barely. Her skin regained a little color but was still far too pale for his liking. Her normally bright and cheerful eyes were clouded over. She looked like she was laying on her deathbed already. It took a lot of willpower for Jake to force away the image of Cassandra one day looking like this.

"Jake is that you?" Cassandra's voice was raspy like it hadn't been used in a while. "I can't see very well..."

"I'm here darlin'." Jake whispered softly as he took her unblemished hand in his and squeezed softly. He wondered if she would at least be comforted a little by the gesture. "You're safe."

The tiny smile the redhead gave him coupled with the weak returning squeeze of the hand was all the answer Jake needed.

The man was so distracted by the feel of Cassandra's hand in his, and the relief that she was still there, that he didn't notice Endymion approach until the sorcerer was beside him.

Before Jake could ask what he was doing, Endymion's hand lit up with purple colored flames. The cowboy watched curiously as he ran the flaming hand slowly over the redhead's body, the flames not quite touching her.

"She is recovering even quicker than I thought, her arm will soon be back to normal." Endymion explained as he continued whatever it was that he was doing. "She may be able to stand on her own before long as well. But the most important thing was that she needs rest, preferably sleep."

The knowledge brought great comfort to Jake. Endymion's next words instantly caught him off guard though.

"Even with her tumor."

Jake's gaze snapped to Endymion so fast his next almost had whiplash. How the hell could he possibly know that?

"Magic." Endymion answered without even looking at Jake, instead holding up the flaming hand.

Jake could only sigh, at this point he really didn't care.

"What are you doing here?" Cassandra whispered as she turned her now slightly clearer eyes on Endymion.

"I warned you the streets were unsafe after dark miss." Endymion answered as the flames on his hand vanished in the blink of an eye. "You're lucky I tracked that thing down when I did."

Wait... Cassandra knew this guy? How?

Before Jake could ask, Cassandra suddenly went limp again. Jake had no chance of stopping the instant swell of panic that rose in his chest. "Cassie!"

"Peace my friend," Endymion's hand latched onto Jake's shoulder is a firm but painless grip. "She is merely sleeping." Endymion stood back to his feet and made his way back to their main table.

Jake squeezed Cassandra's limp hand one last time before letting go, very hesitantly. She was here at the Annex, the Library, there was no safer place on all of earth for her to be. Not only that, she was going to be okay.

At least that was what Jake repeated within his mind. It was the only thing that allowed him the ability to stand and leave her there on that couch fast asleep.

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 **I'm finally getting my spark back for the Librarians fandom. I mean seriously, And the Nightmare Trap is getting more reviews than anything I've done in a while! Good thing too, I was getting worried. Please review and let me know what you all think.**


	5. Respite

**This chapter was made entirely from scratch, whereas previous chapters have been merely altered and mashed together. Took me a bit longer to get it together.**

 **The original Legacy of Salem had very little information about Endymion himself. This was something of a writer's mistake on my part, because I assumed too many would read across fandoms about The Traveler. Not only that, I have decided to extend this story beyond where it was going to end.**

 **Enjoy.**

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"This is everything you've been able to gather?" Endymion spoke as he perused the table of books and notes.

"Afraid so." Jake answered from his position opposite. "The trials occurred all over the region, but we have all kinds of records on that. Same as a run-of-the-mill history book. But…"

"Salem itself is a blank spot. Hmm…"

"How's that even possible? I thought the library knew almost everything." Cassandra croaked from the couch. The redhead was still in rough shape but, just as Endymion assured, was recovering remarkably fast. Her arm was no longer looked blackened, and her skin seemed to be regaining some color. "Especially something like that, I know technology wasn't very advanced back then, but you'd think someone from the Library would be able to piece it together."

"If I had to hazard a guess? Something nasty happened, and no librarian was able to report on it." Endymion supplied while flipping through a book. "Could have easily been actual witches the peasants were able to take care of."

"Speakin' of hazards, you seem to know quite a bit." Jake did not trust their guest in the slightest, but were it not for Endymion's intervention, Cassandra wouldn't be among the living. Hell, maybe none of them would have survived. Saving Cassandra automatically earned him the benefit of the doubt as far as Jake was concerned. "Just what in the hell was that thing?"

"Afraid that's impossible for me to tell you."

"Why not?" Jake didn't intend for it to sound so hostile, it just came out that way. "It nearly killed Cassie!"

"If I could tell you, I would. But I can't, because there's too many possibilities." Endymion replied, voice not raised in the slightest. "At first I thought maybe a death specter, but the behavior was off. Or, it could have been an umbral hound, shadow beast, night horror, maybe even a djinn. I could rattle on over five hundred more right now. Give me a minute and I'll have an additional several hundred."

"There can't be that many creatures like that. Oh, and we actually met a djinn before, he looked nothing like this." Cassandra was at last able to sit up fully, but her body was still physically weak. Her recovery would go quicker if she stopped trying to join them at the table.

"Because there isn't, and this djinn would be radically different from that one." Endymion sighed. "Did either of you get a weird feeling when in that thing's presence? Like a horrible feeling of unease, like that thing out there didn't belong?"

Jake hadn't thought about it, he'd been so focused on getting Cassandra to safety he put little to no thought toward how the monster made him feel, but now that Endymion mentioned it. "I think I did feel somethin' weird. Cassie?"

"Right before it came at me, yeah." The redhead nodded.

"Figured so." Endymion sighed. "Best case scenario, the thing came out of a rip."

"Rip?" Cassandra asked. "What's that?"

"Hey guys!" Jones' voice echoed as he came into the room, new book in hand. "Found something."

"What is it?" Jake took the hefty tome.

"Evidently a record of all previous librarians." Jones answered. "I was taking a peek for anything we might have missed, and this almost fell on my head. Figured Ray wanted us to have it."

"Wait…" Cassandra pondered. "Endymion, you said no one could have been around to tell the story of Salem, right?"

"Correct."

"Jake, who was Librarian in 1692 through 1693?"

"Uh let's see…" Jake flipped pages until he found the year. "Guy Norrington, died 1693…"

"No way that's a coincidence." Jones shook his head. "Librarian dies the same year the trials end? Come on."

"Mr. Jones is right, it can't be a coincidence that this monster returns to Salem of all places. Even with the ley line overhead, it's no place all that special." Endymion sat the book he was holding back on their pile.

"Hold up a sec, you didn't finish what you were saying." Jake remembered. "What's a rip?"

"Quite possibly the second worst thing that can happen." Endymion explained. "Rips are… oh how to put it simply… think of them like doorways. They only stay open for a fraction of a second, but almost always something gets through, something that doesn't belong. Sometimes it's harmless, like a painting made by someone who doesn't exist, other times it's a horrifying monster."

"Doorways to where?"

"Other worlds, Miss Cillian." Endymion looked around until his eyes found their globe. "Picture this as earth." The man then held up a second hand where a duplicate globe of light appeared. "And this, is the world our shadow monster came from. A rip must have formed between the two, and this thing was dragged through."

"Any other threats that came through?" Jake had a nasty feeling in his gut upon hearing this. One was certainly bad enough, lord help them if there was more.

"Universally no. Rips are too small for a group to pass through, usually. And if there was more than one shadow monster, you'd have double the numbers of slain. They would both be consuming energy from the townspeople."

"Something else." Cassandra again tried to stand, only to fall back onto the cushions with a scowl. "You said best case scenario, what's the worst?"

Endymion's face darkened, it was the first time thus far Jake had seen him anything but calm and stoic. For some reason, it worried him more than the monster they had to deal with.

"Worst case… that is one avenue you don't want to consider." Endymion shook his head.

Jake wanted to ask for more clarification, but suddenly the back door began to rattle. All eyes turned to the sealed portal in less than a heartbeat.

"That might be Baird or Flynn." As Cassandra spoke, numerous glowing symbols appeared on the door itself. They flared brightly each time the material shook.

"No." Endymion had already drawn his revolvers. "That isn't your friends."

The shaking grew in intensity, but so too did the brightness of the symbols. As they watched, Jake found himself unconsciously stepping between Cassandra and the sealed back door. All the while, Endymion held his weapons pointed at the door.

Just then a loud screech tore through the entire room. So loud it was, that the Librarians had to cover their ears. Even then, Jake felt like it was tearing right through his entire body and brain.

"Nice try." Endymion didn't react at first. Holstering his guns, he strode forward and slapped a hand on the door. The moment he did, the symbols intensified several times as a hiss carried through from the other side, followed by a blood curdling scream.

"What… was that?" Jake groaned, the sound had dissipated, but his new headache wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Remember the wards I placed on your door?" Endymion kicked the door behind him for whatever reason. "Our friend just tried to breach your annex. My spells gave it the boot, along with a few billion volts of power."

Cassandra eyed the man with wonder. "What are you? Some kind of wizard?"

Endymion sighed. "Personally? I prefer sorcerer, but whatever's easier for you. Your sanctuary should be safe, that thing is too intelligent to try for a direct attack again. No doubt it's searching Salem for an alternate way in."

"It will be looking for quite a while." Jones smirked.

"Yes, and hopefully it will be too distracted and took enough from your friend over there. If we are fortunate, it will not attack the people of Salem again tonight." Endymion moved back to their table and took a seat in one of their stools to face the door. "Returning to Salem tonight would be foolhardy, we'd best wait until dawn. We should be safe, but just in case, I will remain here to watch the door."

Cassandra was in no condition to be returning to her apartment, and Jake really didn't like the ideal of leaving a stranger unattended in the Library. Even if he was there to help them. Good thing they had those extra sleeping quarters here in the annex.

Endymion turned his gaze on Jake and Jones, almost as if he was sizing them up. With inhuman speed, the sorcerer drew his two daggers from inside his coat. Jake was a split second from reaching for his go to rapier when Endymion twirled the weapons around so that he was holding them by the blades. "Mr. Stone, Mr. Jones, I suggest you each take one of these. They couldn't kill it, but they worked to hurt it at least. Should something happen, they may very well save your lives."

Ever one to value expensive items, particularly jeweled ones, Jones snatched his up and vanished form the room before Jake even processed what the man was offering.

"You're probably not going to get that back." Jake chuckled as he gripped the dagger's handle. At first, Endymion didn't let go. That was how Jake found himself under the full scrutiny of those silver eyes. In that moment, Jake felt something inside him clench up. Like he was frozen by some kind of magic spell.

"We know not what we value most until we lose it." Endymion spoke with perfect fluent Italian. The words were nothing special, but they were spoken in such a way that disturbed Jake to his very core. In that moment, Jake was more afraid of this man than he was the shadow monster. "Remember that Mr. Stone."

It took Jake's mind a few seconds to process that Endymion had released the weapon, and Jake was holding it mid-air. He tried to hide his embarrassment from Cassandra by pretending the examine the knife. It was certainly fine craftsmanship, Jake may not be an expert on weaponry, but this was made like a fancy show piece. At the same time, it felt solidly built in Jake's hand. Much like a more practical one would be.

"Hey, any chance I can get an interview?" Jake couldn't have rolled his eyes any harder at Cassandra's words. When she looked back at Jake, the redhead shrugged. "What? He's the first wizard that is even somewhat friendly! Imagine what we could learn from him."

Jake really should have seen this coming. He knew how much Cassandra wanted to learn how to use magic, and she knew just how badly he disapproved. It wouldn't be so bad if Endymion was actually someone they knew.

Endymion chuckled. "Sure, I sometimes give out one every few thousand years. But you must wait until this is all done and finished. Tonight, Miss Cillian, you need rest if you wish to recover completely."

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 **I was a little worried this would be too short, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. It is something of a filler chapter though, at least it feels like one. Anyway, review please and let me know how I'm doing.**


	6. Four Enter, Two Leave

**Been having some serious inspiration issues. I haven't been able to get a single word down for a while now, but you can thank the readers over in Elder Scrolls for helping get some of it back.**

 **Enjoy.**

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"I'm fine Jake, don't worry." Cassandra must have said it a dozen times, but Jake was having a hard time believing it. Every time he blinked he could see the burnt looking flesh of her arm taunting him.

Just as Endymion had said, after a while she was perfectly fine. Her skin was back to its normal hue with all traces of the monster's attack gone. Even so, Jake could not help glancing her direction regularly.

The trio of librarians had only one lead for the moment, the abandoned house outside the town. Even it was merely an urban legend. Then again, a large part of their job was based around legends and stories. Such tales often held a grain of truth among the falsities.

With no other options, Jake rented them a truck and they made for the abandoned house. With their plus one.

Jake was driving with Jones in the passenger seat while Cassandra sat between the two in the middle. Endymion sat in the bed of the truck with his back to the rear glass window.

Jake was still wary of Endymion, but they didn't have the luxury of refusing his help. Whatever was stalking Salem was definitely magic in origin but the librarians had no way of combating it. Hell, they still didn't know what it was!

Thus far Endymion showed to be the only one who could fight it off. If it was killable, he was the only one who stood a chance. Maybe if they knew what it was or where it came from but for now he was their only real hope of putting an end to the deaths.

Eventually they had to stop the truck when the woods became too thick to traverse. They had already been driving on abandoned dirt roads for most of the trip. They were fortunate to get as far as they did.

Looks like they were going to have to go the rest of the way on foot. It was not an idea Jake was all that fond of. Last thing they needed was to take too long getting there and back. If they were not back to the annex by nightfall... it was a scenario Jake didn't want to imagine.

Endymion had warned them that it now knew both they and him were there. The four would be its prime targets because they were threats. An attack was all but guaranteed when the sun went down.

Filing out of the truck, the group began the hike through the woods. There was a rough pathway to follow but the thick underbrush and old trees made taking a vehicle impossible.

From what Jake had gathered when asking around town was that kids sometimes came out here on dares to enter the house. That at least explained why the path was not fully overgrown.

On the trail, Endymion voiced his suspicions the house was enchanted. The very idea made Jake cringe. Last time they dealt with a magic house Cassandra had to go toe-to-toe with the ghost of a murderer. It was not an experience he wanted her to relive.

"If it does try to trap us, I can break us out with no trouble." Endymion had explained to waylay some of their worries. Having a wizard on hand during the incident with Katie Bender would have certainly been helpful.

The house was about everything Ezekiel expected from some old witch cabin. No matter what Jake said about maybes to Ezekiel it was a witch house. The place just had that kind of vibe to it.

It was two stories, most of it appearing rundown and falling apart. The roof from what Ezekiel could see was covered in multiple holes. The front door was long gone, if it ever had one. Ezekiel wondered if the holes in the walls ever had glass for windows, or did they use shutters? If they did, they had long since rotted away. The grounds of the house were overgrown with trees and shrubbery all the way to the house itself.

Jake was about to walk through the front door hole when Endymion's arm shot out and stopped him.

"Wait," Endymion looked over the threshold before waving his other arm in front of him. There were multiple small flashes of light before several hovering symbols appeared directly in front of him. Not unlike the symbols that had been placed on their annex door.

"What's that?" Cassandra glanced around Stone to see what was happening.

"Fear wards, similar to the ones I used to safeguard your sanctuary. Mine were simple repulsion, these induce fear on those who pass through, it would explain why no one ever made it to the second room." Endymion waved a hand before him through the ghostly symbols. "There we go, should be clear now, but I'll lead."

Endymion stepped into the entry room first, Stone second with Cassandra and Ezekiel bringing up the rear.

The entrance was just as messy as the outside. With an added stench of rotting wood permeating the air. Most of whatever furniture that used to be here was long gone like the shutters outside.

Endymion stopped in the middle of the room. "We may have a problem."

"What is it?" Stone asked already looking around for potential threats.

"I had my suspicions while we were outside but I think I'm sure now. Those wards are centuries old, magic traps don't usually last that long unless their caster is abnormally powerful." Endymion explained. "But there's something else, there's a magical residue here. It's similar to what I felt when I engaged your shadow monster."

"So we found it's lair?" Jones had already pulled the magic dagger from his belt.

"It would seem so, be on your guard everyone." Endymion answered.

"What if there's more traps? Or even non-magic ones?" Cassandra questioned.

Endymion didn't answer at first, he walked over to the wall and places his hand on the old wood. Closing his eyes, he stood motionless for a long moment. "Mechanical traps are unlikely, these wards are strong enough no one probably ever imagined someone cracking them."

Ezekiel suddenly felt a jolt of electricity in the air. From the looks on Stone and Cassandra's faces they had the same feeling.

"There are a lot of enchantments here." Endymion's eyes snapped open. "Not all of them are traps, Mr. Stone would you step through that doorway please?"

Stone looked on in puzzlement but shrugged and did as asked.

"What the hell?" Stone had his back to them but something about his voice made Ezekiel nervous. He didn't sound hurt but more surprised than anything.

"Wicked difference huh?" Endymion chuckled as he advanced to where the librarian was standing. The other two librarians looked around the other two to see what the big deal was. At first they didn't see anything special, it was the same as the room they were in.

It wasn't until they stepped through the threshold that they saw it.

The moment Cassandra and Ezekiel passed through the doorway the entire house changed. Whereas before it was a ruined mess, now it looked brand new. The walls and ceiling were freshly repaired, candles burned in nearby holders bathing the room in their warm glow. The shutters Ezekiel had been wondering about were closes over the windows.

The entire deal screamed creepy as far as Ezekiel was concerned.

"The outside has an illusion charm on it. You cannot see through it unless you're inside." Endymion walked further into the newly revealed house. "The fear wards all but prevent that."

"Wow." Stone appeared mesmerized, most likely by the pristine conditions of the sixteenth century architecture.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Stone we have not the time to admire the decor. We should search quickly, if this belongs to our quarry we are in great danger the longer we linger." Endymion made for the stairs leading to the next floor. "Mr. Jones you're with me."

Ezekiel never got a chance to question the order before Cassandra and Stone were moving to explore the first level. The thief merely shrugged and followed the sorcerer up the stairs.

"Scary to imagine this has been sitting here for hundreds of years?" Endymion questioned without turning around.

"Little bit?" Ezekiel didn't mean it to sound like a question but it was his first time being alone around their magical backup. Despite the outward friendliness the man exuded, something about him unnerved Ezekiel.

He would have preferred to have been paired up with one of his friends. Come to think of it, why did this guy want to search with him?

"You're with me because it would have been impossible to separate Mr. Stone and Miss Cillian." Endymion suddenly said out of nowhere, startling Ezekiel. "He's been hovering over her, whether he realizes it or not, ever since her close call in the alleyway."

Taken slightly aback, the thief opened his mouth but was cut off. "No, I cannot read your mind." For a second-time Ezekiel tried to say something but was interrupted once more. "I'm just good at reading people."

"That was mildly creepy dude." Ezekiel spoke without thinking.

"Well do this for as long as I have and you pick up a few things." Endymion shrugged as he scanned over a shelf of books.

"Do what exactly? Hunt stuff?"

Endymion paused for a moment. "When it's required, I do many things." Endymion never looked at Ezekiel, instead flipping through random books while speaking. All of which were in some language the thief couldn't read. "Sometimes it's putting down a dangerous creature, other times it's offering guidance. Whatever's needed."

There was something in Endymion's words, like the man was remembering something far off. It lasted only a second before his features changed back.

"You said there were no real records of what happened to the original Salem?" Endymion asked from out of the blue.

"Yeah?"

"I think I got something." Endymion flipped several pages from the book in his hand. "The language is old and archaic but I believe this is a journal. The date is around the time of the trials."

"Let me see." Ezekiel moved to stand beside him but when he looked at the pages all he saw were more of the chicken scratch language like on some of the other books. "What's it say?"

"Like I said, it's a journal of some kind, belongs to someone named..." Endymion scanned the pages, obviously searching for a name. "Oh, this is not good. This belongs to Ethe."

There was something about the way Endymion said the name. A combination of wonderment, fear, and worry. Hearing that was even more unnerving than the word guessing moments before.

Ezekiel never did find out what Endymion read in that journal. There was a crash followed by a scream from below their feet. A female scream.

"Cass!" Ezekiel was about to make a run for the door but Endymion didn't follow. Instead, the sorcerer clenched his fist, sparks of electricity coursing around his hand. He brought the fist down to strike the floor at his feet. Wood instantly splintered and broke upon impact.

Ezekiel barely had time to process what was happening before Endymion disappeared from sight.

For a brief moment, Ezekiel thought about taking the same shortcut. But he decided against it, there was no telling what was waiting below. He really didn't want to fall directly on top of some shadow monster thank you very much.

With Endymion's knife clutched tightly in hand, Ezekiel dashed for the stairs leading back down. Taking them two at a time, he ran for where he could hear the commotion from.

He arrived in the room just in time to see Endymion knocked across the room to crash into a wall of shelves. Their contents dumping all over him.

Before him stood a woman Ezekiel didn't recognize. She had raven black shoulder length hair with a dress that looks like she stepped right off the Mayflower. What was crazy, were the flames running all over her body, not once singing her clothes or body. The fire twisted and coiled around her as if they were living snakes instead of fire.

Of course, her black-eyed gaze had to turn on him just then.

Whatever she had been about to do was cut short when a bolt of lightning struck her in the small of her back, knocking her forward. She whirled around to face an already on his feet Endymion. Without missing a beat the sorcerer drew his pistols and opened fire on the woman with both weapons.

She merely swatted the green bolts aside like flies before charging Endymion. The woman moved with near inhuman speed.

Their attacker lashed out with a column of flame, swinging it over her head like a club. Endymion crossed his revolvers into an X and blocked the attack, then landed a heavy kick to her stomach.

If it fazed her, she didn't show it.

While this was going on Ezekiel made for his fellow librarians across the room. In the short span it took Ezekiel to reach the other two, the entire house had erupted in flames.

The two combatants were constantly deflecting each other's attacks. It wasn't so bad for Endymion's, his seemed mostly to be bolts of lightning and discharges from his guns coupled with physical blows. The other was a complete opposite, she never attacked directly with her hands or feet. Relying on flames and other sorts of fire based moves.

Whereas Endymion fought with precision, never wasting a single attack, the woman seemed to think if she hurled enough fire he would die. It was mostly her stray flames that lit the place up.

Cassandra seemed fine but Stone was half out of it. If the crash earlier was any clue the he probably took a good knock to the head. The redhead was trying hard to get him back to his feet and keep him there but she was too small compared to his larger frame. Ezekiel took his other arm to help the woman get their friend back up.

They needed to get out now. Their presence would only get in the way of the spell slinging battle. Not to mention Stone was in no condition to help anyone.

The trio almost made it to the door when a fireball struck the ceiling above them.

Jake must have recovered somewhat because he managed to push Cassandra back and away before a burning wooden beam fell from the ceiling. He and Ezekiel fell through the doorway while Cassandra went the opposite way.

Leaving her trapped with the two fighting sorcerers.

"Cassie!" Stone screamed as he looked over the doorway, searching for a way to get back in. But there was none, the burning beam was blocking the only real door in. Since both men lacked the ability to knock walls down, there was no way to reach the redhead without being horribly burned in the process.

Ezekiel went for the door to open it. If he and Stone could get outside maybe they could go around. There could be a window, or maybe another door they could use to bypass the obstruction.

The door however, was stuck fast. There was no lock or even a knob, it was like the wood was frozen in its frame with superglue.

"Bloody hell!" Ezekiel all but yelled as he kicked the door hard. When that didn't work, he slammed his shoulder into it. All either accomplished was to hurt his foot and shoulder.

Stone could have maybe broken the door down but the other librarian was busy trying to kick down a nearby wall to reach Cassandra. The man wasn't the Hulk, so he was having as much luck as Ezekiel.

"JONES!" The sound of his name being called so loudly ripped Ezekiel's attention back to the battle unfolding in the other room.

Endymion slammed an electricity charged fist into the woman's jaw, the blow creating a small clap of thunder. She was knocked away and to the floor where Endymion landed another hard kick to her ribs. The force behind the blow throwing her against a nearby wall.

With the opening, Endymion spun around and hurled one of his revolvers across the floor. The weapon slid across the floor, beneath the burning beam blocking the doorway, and into Ezekiel's waiting hand.

The thief had held a gun before, but never fired one. From what he saw of Endymion using it, the revolver was pretty much a Star Wars blaster. Not that complicated to use.

Pointing the weapon at the door, Ezekiel pulled the trigger. The green bolt of energy hit the wood and instantly blew the door from its hinges. If it could take the door out so easy, maybe they could still get to Cassandra after all!

"Stone! I got an idea!" Ezekiel called to his friend who was still frantically trying to get through the wall. All the while screaming for Cassandra.

Stone was so distracted he didn't notice more of the ceiling starting to give above his head.

It was a testament to the reflexes of Ezekiel Jones, world class thief, that he managed to run forward and grab Stone's arm to pull him back in time.

Normally Stone was too large for Ezekiel to move him against his will, but the unexpected yank of his arm threw the man off balance. Both men went tumbling down to the floor just before the ceiling fell on where they had been seconds before. The falling debris missing them by mere inches.

Less than two breaths later more of the ceiling was falling. At this rate the entire house was going to collapse soon. The battle still raging in the other room was accelerating the process.

If they didn't leave now it was going to kill all of them.

"Stone, we gotta go!" Ezekiel never let go of the other man's arm.

"Cassie's still in there!" Stone yelled back.

Ezekiel always likened himself to the concept of the gentlemen thief. Yes, he stole stuff, yes, never felt bad about it. Despite his behavior, he was a good person at heart and undyingly loyal to those deserving of it or those he called friend. This was why his next words sickened him to his very core.

"We have to leave her or all three of us are dead." Ezekiel forced his tone to remain even and calm. No amount of rationalizing could make Ezekiel forget the filth coming from his own mouth.

The look on Stone's face foreshadowed the possibility Ezekiel was milliseconds from sporting a new black eye. As if Ezekiel could feel worse right now.

Stone's intended punch never landed.

A large explosion rocked the foundation of the house. The two men were barely to their feet when the entire roof started falling on them. It was only though a mad sprint that they even made it to the doorway. At the last second both threw themselves out and onto the grass outside.

They looked up just in time to see the entirety of the roof finally fall.

With Cassandra and Endymion still inside.

* * *

 **Once again, this was a easy chapter to do. It was mostly just removing trash and adding a couple things to make it go along with the rest of the new changes. Leave a review please, they are deeply appreciated.**


	7. Reinforcements

**Not much to say here, another fixed chapter.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Stumbling into the annex, Ezekiel slammed the door shut once Stone was through. The thief slumped against the glass of the barrier before sliding to the floor.

Cassandra was gone.

It was a thing that always lurked in the background of their job. The woman had always been living on borrowed time. It was inevitable death would come knocking for her eventually. One day she was going to die and not a thing any of them did could change it.

Only it was nowhere near how Ezekiel imagined it. He always thought she would live a somewhat longer life, filled with many more adventures. When the final bell tolled, she would pass while in the hospital with everyone she loved surrounding her. He even had a small fantasy of Flynn kicking the crap out of some mythical creature just to get there in time to say goodbye. Cassandra deserved that much at least.

In the end, what did she get? Dying in a burning building while it fell down on top of her. Her only company in the end some man they barely knew. At least she wasn't completely alone in her last moments.

If that woman with the fire magic had died in the blaze as well it wouldn't have been so bad. But she did escape, Ezekiel had seen her smash through a wall while he and Stone fled. Endymion could maybe have been able to do the same, but the roof had caved before he could do so.

Endymion and Cassandra died for absolutely nothing.

Leaving their female coworker behind had torn Ezekiel up inside. He was scared to imagine how Stone was going to react. He was closer to her than either of them.

After making it back to the annex, the aforementioned librarian had flopped down into the nearby couch. The same one a recovering Cassandra had rested in earlier.

How was that for luck? She survives having the life sucked out of her only to burn to death.

Stone was sitting with his head in his hands. If it wasn't for the movement of his body's breathing, Ezekiel could have made the safe assumption he had dropped dead on the spot.

Stone had yet to speak a single word since they made it out of the cabin in the woods. Ezekiel was almost afraid of what he would say if Stone did talk. It was Ezekiel who made the call to leave Cassandra, nothing Stone could say would make the thief hate himself more.

A single look at the man on the couch was enough to horrify Ezekiel. He would have preferred to see grief or blind rage. Hell, even if all Stone's anger was directed at him, Ezekiel was the one who made the decision to abandon Cassandra after all. If screaming at Ezekiel would help Jake recover, then Ezekiel would take it.

It was as if Stone was already dead. Like the only thing sitting on that couch was a withered husk of human life.

This was the tough Jacob Stone, the same man who fought a mummy with a sword, who went fist to fist with the trained killers of the Serpent Brotherhood. To see him in such a state...

It was the most disturbing thing Ezekiel Jones had ever seen, and that was saying a lot.

That woman had to be a witch or something. It couldn't be a coincidence that she made her appearance in Salem. People always did say all legends and stories held some truth to them. Maybe this woman was the origin of the legends of the Salem Witch Trials.

Maybe, this was the same being that killed one of their predecessors? If so, this bitch now had the blood of two librarians on her hands.

Morgan Le Fey soon came to mind when Ezekiel pictured the raven-haired sorceress they fought. He sincerely hoped this one wasn't as tough as the other. They hadn't actually been able to defeat Morgan Le Fey, merely foil her plan.

Then there was whatever it was Endymion found in that book. Ezekiel wished he would have thought to grab it, but he couldn't have expected the place to go up in flames. Whatever it was, something had caught Endymion's attention and not in a good way.

Ethe... there was that name too. The journal belonged to whoever that was. The witch they fought maybe? If she was from the time of the trials it very well could have been her journal.

Ezekiel cursed his carelessness under his breath. Even if he couldn't read the book, they had the library. Something around here would be able to translate it. He should have grabbed the bloody book! At least if he did they would have something, instead they had nothing and were down one treasured friend and one sorcerer ally.

Glancing down at his hands, Ezekiel saw he still held said sorcerer's dagger and gun. Stone had the former's twin on his belt. It was better than nothing. Some magical weapons could make all the difference. Only problem was the librarians lacked Endymion's skill with either.

Perhaps if Flynn were here...

Ezekiel all but jumped out of his skin when he heard the loud ringing from his pocket.

He dropped the dagger with a clank before fumbling with his pocket to reach his phone. He didn't have hardly any friends who had his cell number. Cassandra was no longer among them. Stone was right over across the room, whom didn't even react to the sound. That left three possibilities.

Flynn, Jenkins, or Baird.

According to the caller ID, the person on the other end of the line was one Eve Baird.

"Oh, thank god," Ezekiel breathed out as he hit the button to answer.

"Hey Jones, I'm back in town. Just calling to see if you guys have burned the annex down yet." Right now, the sound of Baird's voice was a godsend to the thief.

Normally he would have had some snarky comeback for the former NATO officer, or even a joke that they really didn't burn the place down, but turned it inside out.

Perhaps it was Baird mentioning a place burning down. Maybe it was the vile feeling he still held about leaving Cassandra behind. Whatever his reason Ezekiel was only able to answer with two words.

"Cassandra's dead."

Ezekiel may not be the most morally righteous person but even he felt bad for the horrible news he had to give their guardian. Someone was going to have to do it, and Stone was in no condition to do anything. Plus, if Ezekiel did it over the phone, there was a less likely chance he would lose it in front of Baird.

The only reason he hadn't broken down so far, was his focus on stopping her killer. After that… Ezekiel would cross that bridge when he got there.

The silence on the other end made the sinking feeling in Ezekiel's gut even worse than before, if that were possible. It felt like an eternity before Baird answered. "Where are you?"

Baird's voice was even and calm, but Ezekiel had been around the older woman long enough to know when that kind of tone was forced. Baird cared deeply for the redhead, they all did. But she had shifted into NATO colonel mode, a soldier who had just been told a comrade had fallen in action. It was no doubt Baird's way of coping.

"We're at the annex, Stone's in bad shape." Ezekiel answered. Before Baird could say more he continued. "Just get here Eve. We need help."

The guardian must have heard something in his voice. She made no comment about his use of her first name despite her hatred of the word. "On my way."

With that Ezekiel ended the call.

By the time Baird arrived at the annex, Ezekiel had risen to his feet and deposited his two weapons on their main table. He was standing beside it looking down at the wooden surface when she came flying into the room.

Without saying a word or even looking up, Ezekiel pointed to the near catatonic Stone on the couch.

Ezekiel imagined Baird had been in a similar situation before. A fellow soldier killed in the line of duty and their friends were left to pick up the pieces. She would console them somehow, try to explain their death was for a reason.

Moving to kneel beside Stone, Baird placed a hand on the man's knee. "Stone?"

At first, he was nonresponsive. "Baird?"

"Yeah, I'm here." Baird's voice was uncharacteristically soft. Ezekiel wondered if she had a cookie cutter speech prepared from her career at NATO.

"She's gone." Stone's voice sounded so broken it tugged at even Ezekiel's darker heartstrings. There was a time he would have poked fun for such a thing but he would rather stick himself with the dagger on the table than do that.

"Jones already told me."

"We left her there, we left her to burn." Stone croaked out, whatever control he had of himself was slipping fast.

Ezekiel had to make that call. He was the one who left her behind, even though if they didn't leave all four of them would have perished. Better two than four...

It was a decision that was going to haunt Ezekiel to the end of his days.

Never in his life did Ezekiel think he would have people he cared so much about. Leave it to a magical library to change all that. This was the downside to having people close to you, when they left it was worse than any physical wound.

"I should have been there with her..." Stone's unfocused misty eyes were glued to the floor.

"I know, Stone." Baird sat on the couch beside him. "We all wish we could have done more but sometimes there is nothing you can do. At least you and Jones made it out in one piece."

"It would have been better if I burned with her..." Something in Stone's words was throwing up red flags to Ezekiel's senses. The last thing they needed was a suicidal Stone on their hands.

The homicidal witch was going to be a big enough issue.

"That's not what Cassandra would want, and you know it." Baird all but snapped. "You should try to honor her memory. Live on for her. It's what she would do if she was here."

"Jones?" Ezekiel flinched out of his own thoughts at Baird's voice. She sounded like she was definitely back in guardian mode now. "Threat assessment."

So Ezekiel told her. Every tiny detail the librarians had amassed, including their temporary ally before his demise. All the way down to what had been Cassandra's last moments among the living.

"A witch?" Baird didn't sound skeptical when talking about magical things like she was when she first joined. Her question was a confirmation of the threat they were up against.

"It's Morgan Le Fey all over again. Only without the magic app." Baird had stood up and taken a position opposite Ezekiel at the main table.

"These that guy Endymion's weapons?" Baird glanced over the dagger and gun but refrained from touching the pair.

"Yeah." Ezekiel slid the gun over to her. If anyone should have the gun, it was Baird, firearms were her thing, even futuristic ones. "Looks kinda like it belongs in a steampunk cosplay but it's pretty much a Star Wars blaster. At least it seemed like it when I blew open a door with the thing."

Baird took in the information as she looked down the weapon's sights like she would any other weapon.

The sight brought a sliver of hope to the thief. Baird always exuded confidence in everything she did at the library. It was a comfort to have her with them. It would have been better to have her and Flynn both but the man was still out of reach somewhere. Beggars couldn't be choosers.

"We have any other usable information?" Baird sat the weapon down as she turned her eyes to Ezekiel. There was something in them the thief saw. Though she seemed calm, Eve Baird was prepared to unleash a hellstorm of vengeance on that witch when they found her.

Running his fingers through his hair, Ezekiel wracked his brain for anything usable. As things stood they were back to square one. "No, I… I've got nothing."

"Jones." Baird reaches across the table to place one of her hands on Ezekiel's wrist, much like she'd done for Stone minutes ago. "It's going to be alright, we'll get her."

Ezekiel said nothing, he just nodded. If he had tried to speak, it would have betrayed his own emotions too much for his liking.

"These'll hurt her?" Baird looked over the gun again before picking up the knife to examine it as well. "Kill her?"

"I'd bet my last dollar she is the shadow monster, so yeah these will hurt her. But I don't know if they can kill her. We didn't exactly get to test that." Ezekiel explained.

"Untested weapons are better than no weapons." Baird nodded.

"What do we do?" Ezekiel liked to at least pretend he was cool in control and in charge. But right now, he didn't have the will to pull off that façade.

"We have an unseen enemy, unreliable weapons, a comrade down, and innocents still in danger." Baird summed up their situation beautifully. "I don't like it going into the field so poorly equipped, but we don't have much of an option."

"Wait." Ezekiel happened to glance off to the side when he noticed something that made his heart nearly stop. Where's Stone?"

* * *

 **I am so glad I'm finally getting caught back up on my work. I've been neglecting this story especially for waaay too long. Leave a review and let me know what you think please.**


	8. Blind Assault

**The trend continues with another rewritten chapter. I thought this one would need a lot more but I was wrong.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

One thing was official for Ezekiel. He was going to kick Stone's ass when he found him. Screw not doing punchy, that cowboy deserved it for running off like that.

Of course, as soon as Baird noticed Stone was missing she went into full blown panic mode. Her first guess was someone snuck into the annex but Ezekiel shot that down instantly. A single touch to the door showed Endymion's spells were still active so it was doubtful the witch got through. This left only a single possibility.

Stone went back to Salem.

Stone must have taken off to fight the witch on his own. No doubt in some half-cocked plan to get payback for Cassandra. He did have the knife, but after the thrashing Endymion got it wasn't going to help much.

Ezekiel knew Stone was taking their friend's death hard but he didn't expect him to snap like this. Baird must not have gotten through as well as they thought.

Naturally, the last remaining librarian and his guardian ran to their comrade's rescue. Ezekiel passed the gun to Baird while he kept the dagger.

Nether were prepared for what was waiting for them on the other side of the door.

The pair soon emerged on the streets of Salem, not a person was in sight. At least no one still on their feet. The first hint something was amiss was the woman lying on the sidewalk seemingly unconscious. Baird checked her for a pulse and found one quickly but it was erratic.

Something else was off. There had been a full moon tonight, or there was supposed to be one at least. It was the darkness, this was far from an ordinary night. Almost as if the dark had grown deeper, become darker. It made no sense to Ezekiel, but hey, magic.

The woman they found on the sidewalk was not an isolated case either. The duo found many more people who seemed to have fallen unconscious where they had been. Some on the sidewalk, their front porch, even a few in cars that were still running. Whatever the witch did seemed to have spread across the entire town at once.

"Come on, we need to find Stone." Baird gripped her revolver tighter.

Ezekiel knew a boss battle was imminent. He had played enough video games to know this was the final level before entering the bosses lair. At least the witch hadn't raised any minions, not yet at least.

Even though they outnumbered her two to one, three to one if they could find that damn cowboy, Ezekiel was having a bad feeling about this whole deal. If another sorcerer couldn't defeat her then what hope did they have? Well it was no secret how short the life expectancy of librarians was...

Ezekiel's attention was snatched by a flash of light nearby. With no other leads, Baird and Ezekiel followed the light show. They had just entered some kind of park when Baird franticly signaled to take cover.

With a cluster of trees and bushes for concealment, Baird and Ezekiel found their witch. The woman from the cabin stood in the center of a clearing. Her feet were still, but her hands were moving in intricate gestures. A language Ezekiel felt more than heard passing from her lips.

The witch was still casting whatever spell she was weaving when a roar erupted from the other side of the clearing.

Stone burst from the shrubbery to charge the witch, Endymion's dagger still in hand.

"Smarter not harder!" Baird growled beneath her breath as she also jumped from cover for the attack. On pure reflex, Ezekiel followed instantly with his own dagger in hand.

Baird and Ezekiel made it about three steps before Stone was tripped by the ground shifting around his feet. He rolled just in time to avoid a gout of flame from one of the witch.

Baird opened fire with the revolver but the witch used her other hand to swat them aside like they were no more than flies.

Not a single one of them managed to get remotely close. The woman blocked all their attacks and retaliated with attacks of their own. Unlike hers, Baird and the others couldn't simply stop them and had to dodge. Leaving them on the defensive and unable to do anything but avoid being fried.

The battle lasted a whole two minutes before the witch got tired of their efforts and moved to action. First, she caught Stone's knife arm by the wrist and twisted it with surprising strength to force him to the ground. A knee to his face silenced him.

Next to fall was Baird. One second the witch was in one spot, the next she appeared right in front of the guardian. With her enemy within melee range, Baird lashed out with her own unarmed combat but the witch moved inhumanly fast. Catching one of Baird's hands, she twirled her so that she was at Baird's back and landed a heavy kick to the back of her knee. With Baird down on one knee, the witch grabbed her by the neck and, with a second hand on her lower back, flung Baird over the shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

In a final desperate attempt to do something, Ezekiel threw the dagger he was holding straight toward the witch. She threw up a wall of fire but, to both her and Ezekiel's shock, the knife passed right through.

Now Ezekiel was no master knife thrower. But luck must have been on his side in that moment because the weapon went straight toward the witch's chest. The blade must have defied the laws of physics or something. Ezekiel hadn't even thrown it that hard, but it still sank deep into the center of her chest.

The scream she made almost made Ezekiel's eardrums explode.

If only it had actually slowed the witch down. She quickly tore it free and lunged at Ezekiel. With no weapon he was easy prey. Grabbing him by his throat, she shoved him to the ground hard enough to see stars. Instead of letting him go, she held her iron strong grip to his neck.

Oddly enough, from this angle Ezekiel could see the damage inflicted by the knife. The witch didn't bleed red, she didn't even bleed really. Dark smoke poured from the wound instead.

"Foolish children." Ezekiel had yet to hear the witch speak, he almost wished he didn't. Much like her spellcasting a short time ago, Ezekiel felt the words more than he heard. "You dare attack your betters? Such arrogance!"

Ezekiel was gasping for breath as the witch released his throat. Shortly after, an out cold Stone was thrown down beside him. A disarmed Baird following shortly after.

"Now the time has come for you to die." Flames coalesced around the arms of the witch. Faster than an eye blink she raised her hands and unleashed the fires of hell upon them.

* * *

Jake had done some stupid things in his life. Attacking an all-powerful sorceress with nothing but a knife definitely ranked pretty high up there. It was neither the smartest thing to do nor the right thing to do. He imagined Cassandra would have berated the hell out of him for trying.

At the time, all he could think about was making that witch pay for what she did to Cassandra. He didn't want to kill her oh no, at least not at first. He wanted her to suffer.

When he heard they needed to go after the witch, something inside Jake just snapped. Jake had been on the street before he even realized he was on his feet.

The assumption she was distracted by whatever vile spell she was enacting had been way off. She was very observant or knew he was coming. Either way his frontal assault ended as badly as that time he tried a similar tactic against Baird during training.

Jake's head was swimming ever since he took that hit to the face. He was a fairly durable guy but it must have had magic behind the blow because no human could possibly hit that hard. Not with that witch's tiny build.

He did however hear the words of the witch. Then he heard the whoosh of approaching fire.

He always thought burning to death would hurt like hell. But right now, he didn't feel hardly anything apart from a nasty headache forming.

"Jake?" A quiet voice spoke up from his side.

Opening his eyes, he was at first greeted by a dark blur sitting beside him. As his vision slowly cleared he was astonished by who it was.

"Cassie?" Jake was utterly baffled. Her mane of red hair was the first thing Jake noticed. Next was the black dress she wore along with small fireworks going off behind her.

Jake found himself unable to speak for the longest time. Despite the pounding between his temples, he reached up and pulled the redhead into a tight embrace.

Cassandra let out a small "oh" of surprise as she returned the hug. "I'm glad you're okay Jake."

"Is this heaven?" Jake finally found his voice.

The redhead opened her mouth to answer but the voice from behind her beat her to it. "No Mister Stone, this is most certainly NOT heaven."

Peering around Cassandra, Jake saw that the other person was Endymion. He stood with one foot slid backward as if about to perform a sprint. One hand was held out in front of him while his other was in the air behind him.

As Jake's vision grew more and more clearer he saw several things at once.

Firstly, that was not a dress Cassandra was wearing, but a long black coat that swallowed her smaller frame. She was clutching the lapels of the garment to hold it closed.

Since Endymion was missing his, it must have been the one he normally wore. It was the first-time Jake saw the sorcerer without the coat on. Underneath the coat had been what appeared to be some kind of combat armor, but it looked like something straight from a science fiction novel. Along with that was a harness on his back. Jake could see spots where the two daggers were normally sheathed, a pair of pistol holsters with one unoccupied, and a short round metal bar right over his spine.

The next thing Jake saw was the blue translucent glasslike shield around them. Judging by the way Endymion was standing it must be something he was generating. What Jake had thought were fireworks were fireballs and magical missiles being deflected by the barrier around them. The witch most certainly had not given up.

"But I thought you two..." Jake was unable to finish his sentence.

Endymion scoffed. "Please, if a burning building was enough, I'd never have made it to my fifth millionth birthday."

* * *

 **Well, this actually didn't require as extensive a rewrite as I thought. Let me know what you think.**


	9. Death Denied

**Again, only some minor changes. But this is where the original story ends. Chapters, the few that remain, will be entirely from scratch and drastically different from the abysmal original one that followed this.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Earlier that day...**

It all happened so fast.

While Ezekiel and Endymion was searching the upstairs she and Stone were doing the same to the first level. Most of what they were looking at Cassandra had no idea what it was or did. Small charms and other assorted items were scattered everywhere but neatly arranged. All in all, the house was very well organized despite being abandoned for god knows how long.

Cassandra had subconsciously gravitated over to the bookcase. At least books would be a simple matter compared to the weird things in the cabin. At least that's what Cassandra thought until she discovered they were all written in some obscure language. Didn't help matters that Jake, skilled linguist that he was, couldn't read it either.

Speaking of the man, Cassandra almost caught him watching her. The man would give her strange looks every few minutes. As if he expected something to reach out of one of the books and attack her. The redhead wasn't sure if she should be flattered he worried about her or a little insulted he didn't think she could take care of herself. Cassandra really couldn't fault him, an evil shadow monster would have been something none of them could stand against.

Cassandra just told herself that was how Jake was. He always worried about and looked after those he called friend. Whether it was in a bar fight or against evil mummies, Jake was like both co-worker and protector.

It was himself Jake should have been watching out for.

One second Cassandra was searching through a new book and the next she heard a commotion from across the room. She looked up just in time to see Jake being thrown across the table in the room's center like a ragdoll.

"Jake!" Cassandra screamed without thinking as she rushed over to the fallen librarian. She barely made one step before she saw the woman standing where Jake was moments before.

Twin fires in her hands and a maniacal smile on her lips.

Before the woman could attack Cassandra, the ceiling exploded directly over the former and Endymion came crashing through from the floor above in a hail of splintered wood and electricity.

The witch, at least that was what Cassandra figured she must be, dove aside before the falling sorcerer and debris could crush her. Endymion was already charging before his feet even touched solid ground.

While the two mages fought, Cassandra rushed to Jake's side. To her utmost relief, she heard him groan quietly. That meant he was alive at least. Although judging by his inability to get up he must have hit his head on the wall, that or the witch clocked him in the process of throwing him. Regardless he was both alive and awake but badly dazed.

Taking Jake's arm and slinging it over her shoulders, Cassandra tried her best to get him back to his feet. Normally with head trauma like that it would be bad to move him so quickly, or roughly, but the cabin was starting to go up in flames and they were still inside. They could worry about his head once they were safely outside.

The redhead was only a fraction of Jake's size though, she could barely get him to stand.

Salvation came in the form of one Ezekiel Jones appearing on Jake's other side. With the two of them together, plus a recovering Jake, they were finally able to get their fellow librarian moving.

Despite her own fear, Cassandra was optimistic as they approached the door. Once they were through it a short walk later would get them outside into fresh air. The flames were getting stronger fast and the smoke was even worse. If they didn't get out soon they might suffocate before the fire got them.

The downside of optimism is that sometimes the world has to smack you back down to earth.

Just as they reached the door, Cassandra was suddenly pushed. She went one direction while Jake and Ezekiel went the other. The redhead was unsure who did it but the act saved all three of their lives since a large piece of flaming wood fell where the trio had been standing.

The up side was that Cassandra was alive. The reverse was that now she was trapped in the burning building with no way out. To top it off there was the witch and wizard trying their hardest to kill the other.

"Cassie!" Cassandra could hear Stone yelling for her. She tried to call back she was fine but was forced to dive when a stray ball of flame shot toward her. Instead of a direct hit, the magical attack grazed her side. Burning her flesh and singing her clothes at the same time.

Part of Cassandra hoped Jake didn't hear her cry of pain.

"JONES!" Endymion's yell was loud enough to be heard over the bonfire the house had become, it may have even rattled the very foundation of the building.

Cassandra looked up from the floor just in time to see the witch knocked across the way by a boot to the abdomen. Without missing a beat, Endymion hurled one of his revolvers under the obstruction blocking the doorway. If he planned to do anything else, he never got the chance because the witch was instantly pressing the attack once more.

The female librarian didn't have the will to stand up anymore. She was unable to focus, both due to smoke inhalation and the heat beginning to blister her skin.

The wound to her side must have been a second degree burn at least. It hurt worse than anything she could remember, but she could still feel it. It was almost enough to wish for a third degree instead, if only for her not to have to feel the agony. But she dared not look down at the injury out of fear of what she would see.

This was going to be where she finally died. To think she always assumed it was going to be in a hospital with everyone around her. Burning to death was also not a method of death she ever envisioned but that's the life of a librarian for you.

At the very least Jake and Ezekiel likely made it. Ezekiel would be distraught for a time but would be fine after a while. Jake... would be badly broken. He would take it the absolute hardest and not spare himself any guilt.

The crack over Cassandra's head was proof that she wouldn't burn to death at all.

Just as the ceiling gave way, Endymion appeared beside her. A quick gesture of his hands and a dome of bright light appeared around both of them. Less than a split second after, the roof broke free and fell. The glowing barrier the only thing stopping them from being crushed.

Cassandra was by no means an expert on the use of magic. But she could plainly see the look of exertion on Endymion's face as he struggled to keep the shield up over the pair.

After holding the entire roof for five seconds, fissures began to form along it's shimmering surface. Each increasing in size with each second that passed. The shield was already breaking!

"Arms around my neck now!" Endymion growled. The tone of his voice made Cassandra obey without hesitation.

In a flash, Endymion wrapped his own arms around her waist. The hold was so tight against her burn wound that it almost brought her to tears. It made her reflexively tighten her arms.

The moment Endymion took her in his arms, the shield vanished.

All the air was sucked from Cassandra's lungs in a bright flash of light. It was as if her body was spinning wildly through empty air but at the same time never moved an inch. The sensation lasted only as long as it took to blink her eyes.

After opening them, Cassandra found she was no longer inside the cabin. Instead she and Endymion were standing outside the burning structure.

When Endymion released his hold, Cassandra fell to her knees desperately trying to suck in air. Whatever it was he did made the redhead feel like every tiny bit of air had been sucked from her lungs.

It was right then that the pain on her side returned full force. Her suffering was so intense she fell to the earth clutching at the wound, tears forming in her eyes.

With his characteristic speed, Endymion was at her side in an instant. Before Cassandra could say another word, he pushed her so that she was flat on her back. The action jarred the burn even more but Endymion didn't seem to care.

Endymion's eyes scanned along her side and hip. The sorcerer's face was blank, almost mechanical in his examination. Like he was looking over a broken toaster rather than a damaged human body.

"This will hurt." Three words was all the warning Cassandra received before Endymion's hand clamped her mouth shut. When his skin made contact with hers, she felt an electric shock pass through her body.

Cassandra found she literally could not move a muscle. She could still see and speak, although the hand over her mouth muffled any sound that she tried to emit.

The rush of terror was already there with her own paralysis, but it only grew when Endymion's spare hand lit up in bright green flames. What was he about to do to her?

The answer came when he pressed the flames into her burned side.

Cassandra wanted to scream, she tried but the hand muffled her voice. If not for that, she would have yelled until she was horse, and then kept yelling. This pain was at least twenty times stronger than her burn wound was. It began where Endymion pressed his hand but extended further and further out the longer his hand was in place. She tried to forcibly will her body to move away from the cause but the shock she had been given prevented anything of the sort. With her body paralyzed, Cassandra could do nothing but sit there and endure. When she wished and begged her own body to pass out, it wouldn't.

All she could do was make muffled whimper noises and cries.

When Endymion finally pulled his hand away, tears were running rivers down Cassandra's cheeks from the pure agony. Her breaths came in desperate huffs.

Endymion moved his hand away from her mouth with another spark of electricity through her. This time it had the opposite effect, the first paralyzed her while this one reversed it.

Her first instinct was to hit Endymion, hard. But her body decided it wanted to grab onto the spot that hurt so much first. To her utter bewilderment, she wasn't burned. All she found was smooth, unblemished skin.

Cassandra looked down at herself in confusion. There was no sign she ever had a burn on her side. All the redhead found was unharmed skin and her badly singed and tattered dress.

Blushing furiously, Cassandra tried to cover herself with her arms. What remained of her bra, and a lot more than she would have liked, was on plain display.

A coat was offered by Endymion, whose eyes were completely averted. It was the first time she had seen him without it on. She remembered when he pulled the knives from under it she had pondered just how many weapons were under the thing. Cassandra could see holsters for his two revolvers, sheaths for the blades, but the one that was strange was the short metallic rod in the middle of his back.

The woman took the garment and draped it around herself. She and Endymion were more than a little different in size. The coat actually brushed the ground when she stood back up.

"Done that many times, but still have yet figured out how to make it less painful." Endymion spoke, a hint of remorse in his voice. "Healing magic tends to hurt worse than the natural healing process. Such is the trade-off."

Healing magic? Couldn't that be used to...

"Come, we need to move." Endymion was already walking away before Cassandra could voice her thoughts.

Cassandra scrambled to follow the man, her hands holding onto the lapels of the coat to keep it closed. What was this thing made of anyway? At a distance, it seemed like leather but leather was not this soft, nor this tough feeling. The feel of the material beneath her fingertips seemed unnatural, even by the standards of a librarian who was around magic daily.

"Your friends are too far ahead of us to catch back up. They likely sprinted all the way back to the vehicle." Endymion looked to the sky. "It'll take us too long to get back on foot."

Cassandra let out a sigh of relief. At least Ezekiel and Jake made it out of the cabin. She would have called one of the two men but an examination of her pocket revealed her cell phone's condition as charred beyond repair.

Hopefully Cassandra could reach her fellow librarians before one of them did something stupid out of grief or something. Ezekiel would be mostly fine, it was Jake Cassandra really worried about. Ezekiel would look after Jake at least.

Just then Cassandra felt a spike of pain lance through her head. She hissed quietly under her breath taking her head in hands. It felt like a hot poker had been jabbed through the back of her neck and up into her head.

Of all times for the brain grape to start acting up...

"This'll work." Cassandra had been blindly following Endymion's lead. Only now seeing that he was leading them seemingly in some random direction into the woods. Now he had stopped in a small clearing.

"For what?" Cassandra looked around quizzically. There was not much here save grass, trees, and more grass. Certainly nothing that would be of much help for them.

Endymion didn't respond at first. Opting to remove the rod from his back harness and begin drawing in the dirt. "We need to get back to Salem, immediately. I could fly myself but I cannot carry you at the same time. Nor can I in good conscience leave you here alone to walk back on your own."

Endymion could fly? Maybe he could levitate himself or something.

"Then what are you doing?" Cassandra examined the symbols in the earth. They were practically gibberish, but Cassandra wasn't exactly good with languages.

"Teleportation sigil."

"But can't you just…"

"No." Endymion cut Cassandra off. "That was only short range, and normal teleportation magic isn't going to work right now." Endymion paused and froze as if he was hearing something Cassandra wasn't. It didn't last long but long enough to worry Cassandra.

"What now?"

"She's making her move. Ethe already put a block on the town to stop the quick way back." Endymion explained, albeit cryptically.

"What are you talking about?"

Endymion looked up from his writing, oddly enough not stopping while he did so. His gaze toward Cassandra was making the redhead uncomfortable. It was as if he was staring right through her. "Tell me, do you have a strange feeling at the base of your skull? Like a pain from nowhere?"

"How did you know that?' Endymion must have seen or sensed something in Cassandra's body language.

"You can feel it too Miss Cillian."

"Feel what?"

"You can feel the magic being casted from a distance if it's strong enough. Right now, you're feeling a combination of a Zikeke barrier charm, and a soul absorption field." Endymion turned his gaze back to the runes being carved into the dirt. "The first prevents all forms of teleportation from passing through, while the second does what she was doing to individual people on a massive scale. This," Endymion pointed to the drawing at his feet, "is a Tikore teleportation sigil. It will bypass her own barrier."

"But didn't you say all forms of…"

"I did." Endymion nodded sadly. "The fact that I must resort to this means…" Endymion stop speaking and drawing, his eyes staring at the ground while he let out a sigh. "Remember what I said about worst case scenario?"

"You said we don't want to even consider it." Cassandra felt her stomach twisting into knots.

"Your monster, is named Ethe." Endymion resumed drawing, but his face contorted into a mixture of regret and worry. "If I don't stop her right here, right now, your world will burn. There isn't a single thing in the world that could come close to even slowing her down."

"Surely one witch can't be that powerf…"

"Ethe is no mere witch." Endymion scowled. "She may look human, but that's just a glamor. In reality, she is what's known as an ifriet. You have them on this world, but not one like her."

"Okay, some new super rare monster?"

"Worse. Ethe is a magi, like myself. Whereas I am The Traveler, her name is, yes I know it's ironic, The Witch. I suspect she may be the reason for them being called 'The Salem Witch Trials'."

"So, she's this all-powerful wizard?" Cassandra questioned. "Not the first one of those we had to deal with." Memories of Prospero marched through the redhead's brain.

"You never had to deal with a magi." Endymion snapped. "And especially not one going through the power rage. Be thankful she's only in the opening stages, were she any more advanced, I wouldn't stand a chance, and your world would already be ash."

"Power rage?"

"I don't have time for the long explanation, so I will provide the short one." Endymion almost sounded like his words were rehearsed. "Her power is growing exponentially by the second, the stronger she gets, the deeper she slips into madness. Like Cicero levels of crazy." At Cassandra puzzled look, Endymion kept talking. "Ember Mary?" Cassandra was only growing even more confused. "How about the Joker?"

"Like from Batman?" Not the first thing Cassandra expected to come out of Endymion's mouth.

"Ah, one you have heard of, good." Endymion nodded. "Now imagine the Joker, but with the power to level entire planets on a whim, then give him the ability to travel to other worlds. That is how bad a magi going through the power rage is."

"Oh." The knots had grown from mild worry, to full blown fear now.

"Oh indeed." Endymion wore a tight-lipped smile, with no humor whatsoever. "We need to kill her, and quickly."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Cassandra remembered the battle in the cabin. Ethe and Endymion seemed to be on equal footing, but if she was growing stronger as fast as Endymion claimed, that was going to no longer be the case.

"Simple." Endymion clapped his hands after replacing the bar on his back. "We fight. Normal procedure for a power rage driven magi is to gather a group of other magi to hunt them down. But time is a luxury we do not have if we wish to save your earth. I will have to tackle her on my own."

"All by yourself?" Cassandra might be scared out of her mind at the prospect of what they had to face, but she was a librarian. More than that, Jake and Ezekiel were librarians, and Baird was their guardian. Sitting back and watching a battle for the world was not something they did.

The question that burned within Cassandra was about Endymion himself. If he was like this Ethe, a magi, and could jump to other worlds then why was he still here? It would be wise to do as he said, leave and gather his fellows before confronting Ethe. Why wasn't he doing that?

Endymion looked over the completed sigil. "If necessary, yes. But I would suggest you and any of your surviving friends flee to your Library and find something that can stop and all powerful monster while I engage. If we're fortunate, I can slay her. If not, it will be up to all of you."

Cassandra was already compiling a mental list of what they could use when Endymion motioned her over.

"All you have to do is stand in the middle of the circle. This will be different from blinking I used earlier, more stable."

Cassandra stepped onto the circle without hesitation. She knew what was at stake, it was time to, as Ezekiel might say, "get dangerous".

"One last thing." Endymion held up one of his hands. "I need you to remove these rings for me. They're enchanted so I cannot do it myself."

They were simple silver bands without any additional adornments. Nothing really special from what the redhead could see. If he was stopping them now it must be important to remove it so Cassandra did just that.

"Thank you. Now, you ready?" After pocketing the ring, and at Cassandra's nod, Endymion touched his palm down to the ground, the symbol lighting up with a brilliant light.

When Cassandra blinked her eyes, she found they were no longer in the forest. They were however directly in front of their foe, Ethe.

Along with a massive burst of flame coming straight toward Endymion and Cassandra.

Endymion was more than ready for the attack. The fire was deflected upward with a swipe of his hand. His opposite hand thrust forward sending a bolt of lightning that struck the witch dead on.

While this was happening, Cassandra had noticed who was behind them. Ezekiel, Jake, and oddly enough Colonel Baird too. All three were thrown into a pile on the ground. Cassandra instantly rushed to Jake's side. Unlike the others, he seemed the only one not fully conscious.

Ezekiel and Baird said something but Cassandra was not paying enough attention to hear.

Endymion took several steps back before raising his arms up, a shield like the one he used to save them from being crushed appearing over the entire group.

Cassandra knew with Endymion standing guard they were the safest they could be. She focused her attention on the fallen librarian. "Jake?"

Cassandra had been running her fingers through is hair when she heard his voice. "Cassie?"

The redhead had no time to react before she was snatched into a crushing hug from Jake. Despite being caught completely off guard she returned the embrace. "I'm glad you're okay Jake."

"Is this heaven?" Jake spoke softly.

Cassandra almost giggled at his question. She was not able to answer before Endymion did it for her. "No Mister Stone, this is most certainly NOT heaven."

Jake looked past her to only now see Endymion was here as well. "But I thought you two..."

"Please, if a burning building was enough, I'd never have made it to my fifth millionth birthday."

* * *

 **Honestly, this ended up being a lot longer than I was expecting.**

 **Leave a review please.**


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